Why is Judging Bad?

What exactly is wrong with judging someone? Why is this very negative activity frowned upon, when we know that the person we judge "deserves" our tongue or thought lashing? 

Judging and condemning others is bad, not because it is impolite or because Jesus exploded at this venomous negativity.

When the faithful religious crowd was about to stone a woman, Jesus said, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” 

Once it finally hits us, that all of us needs His Grace, then our reaction would automatically be, "how can I judge someone?".

That's My King!

 

Narrated by Dr. S.M. Lockridge.

Chariots and Political Parties

Some trust in chariots and horses, some Christians, in political parties. 

The 2012 US Presidential Election is around the corner and all of us have our reasons on why we think one party is better than the other party.

Regardless of our preferences, the most ignorant thing that we could do is gather information and form our conclusions based on hate-filled chain emails or chatter from clearly biased sources. FOX leans to the right just like MSNBC leans to the left.

Politifact.com, a Pulitzer Prize winning site, dissects the statements made by our good politicians. Here is a link on how they work. 

Another popular site is FactCheck.org. 

I'd encourage you to bookmark and frequent these sites depending on your fascination with the political parties.

If you know of more links like these, please do share it in the comments below.

The Writer's Manifesto

Several weeks ago, I downloaded Jeff Goins' The Writer's Manifesto.

If you are a writer or seriously curious about this beautiful art form, do check it out. It's short, moving and written straight from the heart. It may have been written to the writers or the potential writers, but the heart of this message applies to any creative expression.

I also subscribe to and regularly read Jeff's blog. It's a great blog to those who are passionate about writing, or to those like me, who are discovering this powerful medium of expression.

You can download the book from here.

Disobedient Jesus?

Couple of weeks ago, we saw the effects of Hurricane Irene that hit the East Coast of the United States. Some have died and others have lost their homes due to flooding. And as always, some believe that God sent the storm because He was upset with the the East Coast. 

Here are some reasons why that belief does not hold any water:

1. It is the goodness of God that leads to repentance, not death and destruction. It is the enemy that comes to steal, kill and destroy, not God.

2. Christ demonstrated his love for us by dying for us while we were sinners. Now all of a sudden He is upset?

3. Contrary to the popular assumption, God is not "angry" in this dispensation of Grace. In fact, "God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son ..." to be tortured and crucified for us. That's how much He is in love with the world (not just the Christians).

4. The sin issue has been taken care of on the Cross, once and for all. Love won't be insulted, but if it can, I would assume it would be insulting to God, when we say that God sends natural calamities due of sin; because in other words, what we are implying is, that Jesus' sacrifice was not enough to take care of the sin problem. Please allow this thought to sink in.

5. Lastly, the point that inspired the title of this post. If God is the author of storms, Jesus was defying His Father's will when He calmed the storm. But we know that Jesus was not being disobedient because He only did what His Father did.

Sure, it might take a storm (literally or metaphorically) or two to free ourselves from our undying dependence on the self and trust God wholeheartedly, but the implicit belief that God is the author of every storm, is baseless under the new covenant.

A quote on Pro-Life and Pro-War

Only in America can you be pro-death penalty, pro-war, pro-unmanned drone bombs, pro-nuclear weapons, pro-guns, pro-torture, pro-land mines, and still call yourself ‘pro-life’.

- John Fugelsang







Enough said.


Editing to add another perspective:

“And only in the mind of a progressive liberal can you be anti-death penalty, anti-war, anti-unmanned drone bomb, anti-nuclear weapons, anti-guns, anti-land mines (all in the name of loving your fellow human being) and still think it’s your right to be able to murder an unborn child.” - talkstraight.tumblr.com

February 03, 2012: Editing to add: 

I can be mindless at times. I posted the second quote without thinking that some readers (or someone they know) may have had to go through an abortion, which I know is not a black and white scenario. I deeply apologize if the quotation caused anyone pain.

I am for preserving the life of the mother and the child, just like I am against nations invading other sovereign nations, but when the woman is a victim of rape or incest and/or if there are potential health risks involved (which, by the way, is merely 7% of the total abortions taking place, as per one statistics I just read), in my opinion, the government should stay out of her choice to go with the decision she feels comfortable with.

Related post:
Pro-Life and Pro-War?

Kingdom and the Person

This clip prompted me to place the order for the book The Unshakable Kingdom and the Unchanging Person, by E. Stanley Jones

Grace = O2

Christianity is often viewed as a big buffet table with a variety of doctrinal dishes people pick and choose from. And Grace is often seen as one of those dishes, when in fact, it is the oxygen, with which the new creation in Christ lives. Without Grace, there is no new birth and the life, in Him. We are saved by grace through faith alone, not because we are fluent in Christianese and are trying (good luck with that) to keep the Law.

Just like we won't set limits on our intake of oxygen, we cannot pick and choose grace at our convenience. The Law cannot save us, it only condemns us, leaving us guilty and hopeless.  

The more we renew our minds with the knowledge of His grace, the more saturated will we be in that truth. We may get some talking points from two books and three sermons on Grace, but Grace is not just a topic. It is not a commandment. It is our life source. Our entire life is depended on Grace. Even though some of us thinks that we are qualified to receive His righteousness, the truth is Grace is what qualifies us to receive it.

Grace is not a spiritual concept. It is not an 'it' among the bunch of 'its' that we love to debate. It is a Person, named Jesus Christ.


Related Posts:
Law or Grace
Son Conscious vs Sin Conscious

Half Full vs Half Empty?

"...In this world, you will have tribulation;..."

It is easy to get on the ever-pessimistic tribulation or the suffering bandwagon by just focusing on that portion of what Jesus was saying. But contrary to the popular assumption, that is not a stand-alone statement. He goes on to say, "... but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33 NKJV)

How can we "be of good cheer" when we go through tribulation? It is because the Overcomer lives in us. 

The cup is not just half full, it is full - full of Him!

We can either focus on Him or on the tribulation. What or Who we focus on will be magnified in our lives. Common sense suggests that we choose to focus on Him, than on the upheavals either affecting or surrounding us.